US DOT to unveil plan for modernizing US air traffic control

March 25, 2025

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US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is set to announce a plan to modernize the “aging, under-staffed” air traffic control system in the country.

In a statement made on March 21, 2025, and seen by Reuters, Duffy indicated that he would reveal the details of the upgrade plan later this week.

In the most recent developments, he mentioned that he had informed US President Donald Trump about the initiative, who wants “to create a state-of-the-art, brand new air control system” and is in favor of the proposed reforms.

Duffy aims to introduce new runway safety technology to eliminate the need for controllers to use binoculars for spotting aircraft, as well as to phase outdated technologies like floppy disks, according to the Reuters report.

Additionally, Duffy is advocating for a quicker replacement of old copper wire telecommunications equipment and other necessary improvements.

Earlier in March 2025, Duffy stated that the Transportation Department plans to seek Congressional funding for a “brand new state-of-the-art” air traffic control system.

“We’re going to have an announcement in the next couple days,” Duffy said in an interview with Fox News earlier this month. “We are going to have a brand new system. Again, our system is 25, 30 years old. We use copper wires, floppy disks. I mean… it’s atrocious, the system we use,” Duffy said. “It’s safe, but we’re seeing the cracks of age. So we’re going to build a brand new state of the art system.”

Additionally, on February 27, 2025, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced plans to “supercharge” efforts to recruit more air traffic controllers to tackle a persistent staffing shortage in the US.

“This administration is committed to solving the air traffic control shortage that has existed for too long,” Duffy stated in a February 2025 post on X in February 2025. He added the FAA is simplifying its hiring process from eight steps to five, aiming to reduce the hiring for these essential roles by over four months.